Country 93

No Buck-A-Beer For Kincardine Brewery

Grey Matter Brewery owner says a buck a beer is impossible for a small brewery like his.

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If you thought ''buck-a-beer'' meant that all beer in Ontario would be $1, you were mistaken.

The promise, made by Doug Ford and the newly elected Progressive Conservatives, will lower the minimum price of a bottle or can of beer to $1 from $1.25.

Owner and Brewmaster at Kincardine's Grey Matter Beer, Michael Hueftlein, says his brewery will not be making any changes to try to lower the cost of their beer.

Hueftlein says that a $1 price tag is ''basically impossible''. He says that hypothetically, if he were selling his beer in the LCBO, the only way to break even would be to sell an empty can, and even then he says they would be cutting it pretty close.

He tells us that he isn't even worried about competing to lower the price of beer because craft beer drinkers are consuming the product for quality, not for price.

Tariffs imposed by the U-S have increased the cost of each can by around $0.10. Grey Matter is currently swallowing the additional cost while North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) talks continue. Hueftlein says that the cost may be passed on to the consumer if the tariffs remain in place permanently.

Grey Matter continues to thrive in downtown Kincardine. They recently released a new brew called ''Escape to the Stars'' (Dry Hopped Sour) and are currently working on a Caramelized Peach Blonde Ale, and Oktoberfest themed beer.